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Robert McNamara, Fidel Castro, Barry Goldwater, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Curtis LeMay, Errol Morris, Richard Nixon, Harry Reasoner, Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
Opis:
Fascynujący, nagrodzony Oscarem film słynnego dokumentalisty Errola Morrisa (Thin Blue Line, Gates of Heaven). Wywiad - rzeka z 80 letnim Robertem McNamarą - sekretarzem obrony USA za Kennedyego i Johnsona, później m. in. prezesa Banku Światowego.
Zakulisowe spojrzenie na najbardziej dramatyczne momenty historii XX w.
Muzyka - Philip Glass (Koyaanisquatsi i inn)
Robert McNamara served as Secretary of Defense for seven years under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (his middle name is Strange) is a documentary by Errol Morris in which McNamara talks about his life, his actions during World War Two, his involvement in the Cold War, and - perhaps most fascinatingly - his role in the escalation of the war in Vietnam.
In terms of technique, the film is excellent. This is a film about a serious subject, but it is also a film serious about its art. Morris exploits fully the advantages of cinema as a medium, both aurally and visually. Sound is used to evoke a perpetually ominous atmosphere, and the original score, composed by Philip Glass, is complementary without ever becoming intrusive. The images hold the eye without obscuring the facts being communicated: there is a particularly good series of close-up shots of retro reel-to-reel tape players used as a backdrop to recorded conversations (the Whitehouse Tapes) between McNamara and his two Presidents, and one very effective montage shows simply the names of bombed Japanese cities juxtaposed with the names of American cities of an equivalent size. (I had never considered that Tokyo was about as big as New York.)
But it is the footage of McNamara himself that really holds the attention of the audience. Morris has the him scrutinised constantly by the camera lens, initially in wide-shots, but eventually, as the film progresses and the subjects become more difficult, in searing, penetrating close-ups. As McNamara puts forward his case his face reveals multitudes, but the camera never feels intrusive and we sense a tacit agreement between Morris and McNamara that they are doing something that needs to be done. Occasionally McNamara appears cold, going strangely silent after speaking length on some subject, reluctant to go further, but mostly he is open - one extremely poignant moment shows him describing, with tears in his eyes, his walk through Arlington Cemetery, shortly after the November 22 assassination, to choose a burial site for JFK.
Morris structures the film around the eleven "lessons" of the title, each segment introduced by a caption. Although slightly artificial, this segmentation is useful, because it allows us to focus on very specific aspects of McNamara's dialogue. And as dialogues with politicians go, this one is intimate, compelling, and worthy of our attention. There are very few questions edited into the film, and little direct confrontation between interviewer and interviewee: McNamara is offering the viewer lessons about the waging of war, lessons - again, as the title suggests - drawn from his experiences as Secretary of Defense, senior executive at Ford, officer in the Army Air Forces, and student of philosophy, economics, and business. It is for us to consider the evidence and make our judgements.
Odd evasion aside - and who would not evade questions like: "do you feel guilty about the Vietnam War?" - McNamara gives (and Morris presents) an impressively candid interview, anyone interested in the people and decision-making processes of the period will enjoy it. As for McNamara himself, he comes across as an intelligent and rational player on the stage of history. But as he might say, sometimes intelligence and rationality aren't worth a damn.
Former Secretary of Defense, under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara was one of the most controversial and influential political figures of the 20th century. Now - for the first time ever - he sits down one on one with award-winning director Erol Morris ('The Thin Blue Line') to offer a candid and intimate journey through some of the most seminal events in contemporary American History.
As leader of the world's most powerful military force during this nation's most volatile period in recent years, McNamara offers new and often surprising insights into the bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the effects of the Vietnam War.
Featuring newly released Oval Office recorded conversations with President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, THE FOG OF WAR received critical acclaim for its up-close and personal insider perspective.
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